Deadline for submissions of LEAF'97 papers and proposals to FACT:January 10, 1997

Dear LEAF'97 participant,

I would like to approach you with an invitation to join a meeting ofEast-European media artists, thinkers and practitioners as a productivedebate on the Recent East European Revolutions in Society, Culture,Technology, Art. LEAF'97 is initiated by FACT - the UK's leadingdevelopment agency for artists and exhibitors working with creativetechnology. LEAF'97 is set to fit within the framework of both VideoPositive 1997 (VP 97) and the International Symposium on Electronic Arts1998 (ISEA 98) - the two major media arts events, organised by FACT inLiverpool and Manchester, UK.

The initial LEAF'97 invitation is a call for papers and proposals aboutany new or developing media art projects - CD-ROMs, networked projects,performance/live events that could address the issue of REVOLUTION witha particular East-European emphasis.

LEAF'97 would like to take as a starting point the ISEA98 broad topic ofRevolution and introduce an ISEA context well in advance for ongoingdiscussions and debates that could be further explored off- and on-line.Moreover LEAF'97 would eventually aspire to bring the East EuropeanElectronic Arts awareness to ISEA98 agenda.

LEAF'97 could elaborate on the metaphor of Revolution and reconsider theimplication of Revolution and technology from a particular East-Europeanperspective: from the industrial to the technological, from the shiftingpolitical and information territories of the last ten years, to thefailure of the 'information revolution' to address the great dividebetween the first and the third world. Thus LEAF'97 will provide anopportunity for artists, writers, scientists, musicians and philosophersto relate to the current crucial re-investigation of the histories andphilosophies of both visual and information culture.

LEAF'97 could be perceived as a pertinent continuation of the V2_EastMeeting initiative which aims to foster the understanding of the processof cultural transformation specific to Eastern Europe and the role ofthe media art and artists.

Some of the rewarding benefits for the LEAF participants that willperhaps result in enhancing the local mediascape in the East-Europeancountries of origin could be:

- exploring the variety of VP 97 events which include more than 20installations and networked projects at 8 galleries around Liverpool andManchester, as well as loads of public screenings, performances, symposia- developing further the V2_East network;- promoting East European media art activities to a wider internationalaudience during VP97- initiating new contacts and new media art projects